Fear for the Earth

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Wonder why the environmentalists are so concerned about the Concordia cruise ship that's grounded on it's side near an Italian reef? Wonder no more. Ships don't use what many of us consider normal fuel. They use inferior fuel that's cheap although some of that will change with new fuel standards this year.

"A lot of them burn what's called bunker-C and it's so dirty and it's so black and it's so awful, they have to heat it until they can get it to the point where they can move it around the pipes. It's like tar," said Elizabeth Gilpin, an air resources associate for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

And beyond just the fuel leaks what about the garbage and sewage that is still about the vessel?

In a single day, the federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates passengers aboard a typical cruise ship will generate:
•21,000 gallons of sewage
•One ton of garbage
•170,000 gallons of wastewater from sinks, showers and laundry
•More than 25 pounds of batteries, fluorescent lights, medical wastes and expired chemicals
•Up to 6,400 gallons of oily bilge water from engines
•Four plastic bottles per passenger - about 8,500 bottles per day

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The survival rate of King penguins with metal bands on their flippers was 44 percent lower than those without bands and banded birds produced far fewer chicks, according to new research published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The theory is that the metal bands — either aluminum or stainless steel — increase drag on the penguins when they swim, making them work harder, the study's authors said.

Author Yvon Le Maho of the University of Strasbourg in France, said the banded penguins looked haggard, appearing older than their actual age.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

So one of the side effects of our indoor life style is skin disorders, mainly from the lack of Vitamin D. The remedy according to my online research? Supplements or sun tanning. Costco now has a liquid supplement from Wellesse that you don't have to refridgerate and tastes great. Just shake and take your teaspoons. We are hoping that some of the imune strengthening benefits include reducing the exema (skin rash) that a youngster in our house is getting.

I'm rather surprised that this large bottle (32 oz) doesn't have a childproof cap on it though because the AppleBerry flavor is well liked by every member of the family. If you purchase this keep it well out of the way of curious youngsters as they'll think that it is fancy fruit juice and then we'll be looking at the symptoms of Vitamin D overdose. There are 190 tsps in the recyclable bottle (1 tsp for kids, 2 tsp for adults per day) and price wise it does run a bit more but if you or a youngster has trouble with swollowing pills this is a way to get their vitamins that they actually ask for.

Vitamin D is also good for bone growth. The same youngster broke an arm this fall so this year the supplement is doing double duty. If you don't want to get this vitamin thru a supplement then your body will convert sunshine into Vitamin D. Don't put your suntan lotion on until you've been in the sun around 15 minutes.

Love it! Works just like a regular trap except you open it like a closepin and it stays open. Put peanut butter as usual but on the upper part of the clip. A little foot pedal sticks out for the mouse to step on and Snap! No more putting on the rubber gloves and trying to stay away from the bloody wire while you reset the old kind. (I usually give up and toss the whole thing) Nope, just give this Quick Set one a squeeze and the mouse falls out and at the same time it is reset and ready to go again.

Anyone else getting sticker shock at how much it costs to be a "good" pet owner and get your dog, cat, or rabbit neutered? I just paid $200 to get my Wiem done. Oh, yep they charge by the pound now. Bigger the dog, bigger the sticker price.

And don't forget the options. We now have "just get in there and cut away assembly line style", "I don't know why the laser isn't used more on humans but it really helps the cuts heal faster for better, less painful recovery on pets" and "laproscopy makes the smallest incision and fastest healing times yet". Add $50 for each choice.

Is it my imagination or has the price gone up faster than inflation? I remember when a spay or neuter was less than $50 total.